I do not use a power conditioner at this time. In tying with your previous post my tuner (earlier DT-1 Pro model) has a regular AC power cord - not a wall wart power supply.
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Tuner out - can it be turned off?
- Thread starter KatKlysmik
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I do not use a power conditioner at this time. In tying with your previous post my tuner (earlier DT-1 Pro model) has a regular AC power cord - not a wall wart power supply.
I'll agree that no one's going to be able to tell if you're in tune....unless you can hear it.
If you're willing to add an A/B box for switching, might as well use a pedal tuner instead.
Too bad your tuner doesn't have switching for multiple inputs. My DTR-1 has multi input selection and an onboard mic for ambient tuning.
If you must have a rack tuner, get a used DTR-1. It can do what you need.
If you're willing to add an A/B box for switching, might as well use a pedal tuner instead.
Too bad your tuner doesn't have switching for multiple inputs. My DTR-1 has multi input selection and an onboard mic for ambient tuning.
If you must have a rack tuner, get a used DTR-1. It can do what you need.
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Do you seriously think ANYONE will watch your tuner to see if you're out of tune when you're playing??? It would have to be some seriously disturbed individual.
FWIW, most of the notes on a guitar/bass are actually SUPPOSED to be slightly out of tune when you're playing, even on a perfectly tuned, perfectly intonated guitar. The only way around this "problem" is a true temperament guitar (the ones with wavy frets) and they sound more like a synth than a guitar IMO. The slightly "out of tune" intonation in most frets is what makes a guitar sound like a guitar.
The only thing that matters is that your playing doesn't SOUND out of tune. Would you mute your amp to make sure nobody will notice if you're out of tune? Because I can guarantee you that a LOT more people will be LISTENING to your playing than watching your tuner!!!
Seriously, you need to stop worrying about this non-issue or you will never be comfortable playing in front of a audience.
FWIW, most of the notes on a guitar/bass are actually SUPPOSED to be slightly out of tune when you're playing, even on a perfectly tuned, perfectly intonated guitar. The only way around this "problem" is a true temperament guitar (the ones with wavy frets) and they sound more like a synth than a guitar IMO. The slightly "out of tune" intonation in most frets is what makes a guitar sound like a guitar.
The only thing that matters is that your playing doesn't SOUND out of tune. Would you mute your amp to make sure nobody will notice if you're out of tune? Because I can guarantee you that a LOT more people will be LISTENING to your playing than watching your tuner!!!
Seriously, you need to stop worrying about this non-issue or you will never be comfortable playing in front of a audience.
Why didnt I think of this? I could just set it perpendicular to the cab and no one will see it! Thanks!
Yea I know I have to get my act together not just the rig. If I sound out of tune nothing else matters. More practice!
Agreed, non musicians aren't gonna notice but they'll really enjoy the light show. Musicians will probably notice with their ears before they see it on the tuner.
Fretless player here.
Audience members have ears.
If your intonation on a given note is ever that seriously off, the audience will hear it. They won’t need to check it against a tuner.
Couple of thoughts:
I have strong reservations about using a tuner as a “teaching aid” when learning to play fretless. Because what you really need to do is educate your ears to hear the correct notes and immediately know if you’re off. That and constantly be listening to what you’re playing.
If you find note checking yourself against your tuner is helpful at this stage of your fretless journey then I guess it’s ok. But I’d strongly advise that you to stop doing that as soon as possible and (maybe) only use it occasionally to check yourself. Because a tuner can easily turn into a crutch and seriously slow your development as a fretless player if you don’t attempt to wean yourself off using one that way fairly early on. Same goes for constantly needing to look at the neck when you play.
Here’s something to try. It’s good for ear/hand coordination. And it can be a real confidence builder.
Once you get a little more comfortable playing fretless try this exercise. Put on a backing track. Something simple like a slow blues in E. Listen to it one time through and put your fingers over the neck position you’ll be playing in. Play a blues bass progression one time through with it. Then close your eyes and keep playing. Focus on the accuracy of your intonation. Don’t worry if it’s a little off at first. Nobody else is sitting there judging you. It’s only you and the music. Just keep correcting whenever it seems off by feel. Once that’s sounding good get a little more adventurous and start grooving out on the I-IV-V while still keeping your eyes shut.
Do that a few times and I think you’ll realize you don’t need that tuner, or even your eyes. Fretless is really all about your ears and your hands.
Luck!
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I tune before the gig and then on breaks as needed. If you have to tune more than that, I’d be looking for a different instrument.
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Yea I know I have to get my act together not just the rig. If I sound out of tune nothing else matters. More practice!
If this is a fretted bass and it acually sounds out of tune when you're playing it's almost certainly not your playing but the setup of your instrument.
If your playing sounds out of tune when the open strings are perfectly in-tune you might want to pay a luthier (or an experienced guitar tech) for a professional setup. It's VERY hard to make a fretted bass sound out of tune unless the setup is very poor.
Nut slot heights, saddle heights, neck relief, saddle length/intonation adjustments, even worn frets... all of these things can make a fretted instrument sound out of tune. But to make a properly tuned, properly set up fretted bass sound out of tune is almost impossible, even for a beginner.
A professional setup will most likely make the bass much easier to play as well.
Or are we talking about fretless here?
Nah it was funny, no apologies are necessary. We're good.
Yes I'm just starting to play fretless and am just nervous that the first few rows can actually see when I havent hit the right pitch.
When the music sucks, the tuner gets rewarded with attentionHeck of a feature.
if they have to look at the tuner to know you’re out of tune, you’re close enough
It’s understandable to have some trepidation playing fretless in front of an audience when you’re starting out but there’s no need to overcomplicate things as it will just give you more to worry about.
As someone who’s played both fretted and fretless for a very long time, I assure you there’s absolutely no more need for an electronic tuner when playing fretless than there is when playing fretted. You’re not tuning while you’re playing and when you’re playing you’re too busy to keep referencing a tuner. As others have already pointed out, you’ll tune your open strings at the beginning of the set , just as you would on a fretted bass, and you won’t look at it again until the break unless you need to touch it up between songs. Either way, it’s no different than a fretted bass.
With that, there’s no reason to engage a big rack tuner that you need to power and, more importantly, schlep around. You’d do just as well with a simple Korg pedal tuner (they handle low bass frequencies well) or even a little clip-on headstock tuner. I use a Peterson clip-on for the past 10 years or more. It weighs a couple of ounces and fits nicely in an old Band-Aid box (I like to think of it as a custom road case). Once you’re on the bandstand, that tuner’s not important; at that point it’s all about your ears. If you really need something to check your tuning against, play open strings as much as possible and listen, listen, listen! …and don’t forget to have fun.
No one knows it’s a tuner. To the audience it’s just flashing lights that look serious. To other musicians it’s just flashing lights because we don’t care. If another musician needs to look at a tuner to know you are out of tune and can’t tell that with their ears, then they are a jobber and their opinion doesn’t matter anyway.
I used a racked Pitchblack via the tuner out on my Ampeg for years and no one in the band looked at the tuner except me. they were too busy looking at the audience. and the audience seems to like whirly color things on stage and probably doesn't know what a tuner does or how your bass is tuned anyway.
Most people won't even know what is in your rack much less care.
For simplicity, I use a pedal tuner. Not as accurate but accurate enough, convenient and mutes when I'm on a break.
Tuners really aren't precise or fast enough to pick up and display all of your notes while playing a song. Unless you are just playing quarter notes and letting them ring. Playing any song in tune is still going to cause the tuner to be flying all over the place, so I don't think you should be too concerned about this.
But if you still are concerned just stand in front of your amp while playing.
But if you still are concerned just stand in front of your amp while playing.
You could put a pedal tuner between the amp tuner out and your rack tuner. Then engage the pedal tuner as a mute when you are playing...
I still vote for pedal tuner and skip the whole rack mount version. Just makes sense which isn't normal around here lol 
not that i understand how this would even ever ever ever be an issue of anyone watching a tuner, no one cares. but the tuner has a power button. just turn it off.
if they are focused on it, you have worse issues than your tuner being on.
when are you tuning that a slight delay would cause an issue? and if youre tuning that much, again, you have problems that need addressed.
on a side note, why wouldnt you use the mute function? to me tuning audibly is the worst thing any band does on stage.
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